(Newser)
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Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger has been arrested after 16 years as a fugitive, during which time the FBI was sometimes accused of not trying hard enough to find its former informant, the AP reports. The former leader of the Winter Hill Gang went on the run in 1995 after FBI agent John Connolly—who is now serving time on racketeering charges—warned him that he was about to be indicted. Police say they finally found the 81-year-old, who served as the inspiration for Martin Scorsese's The Departed, at an apartment in Santa Monica along with longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig.

Yesterday's arrest came just days after the government launched a publicity campaign to locate the fugitive mobster; the arrest was reportedly based on a tip from the campaign. Bulger, who had a place next to Osama bin Laden on the "Ten Most Wanted" list, is wanted for his alleged role in 19 murders. He's scheduled to appear in Los Angeles federal court today and faces federal charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, narcotics distribution, extortion, and money laundering. Greig, 60, is charged with harboring a fugitive.